Hyeji Bak won first prize, Marianna Bednarska second prize and Till Lingenberg third prize in the percussion discipline of the 74th Concours de Genève. The final took place on 21 November 2019 at Victoria Hall in Geneva, with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande conducted by Julien Leroy.
The competition had begun with video preselection on 3–4 June. Registration in Geneva was on 9 November, followed by public rounds on 11–21 November. The separate 2019 announcement and application guide contains the complete calendar, eligibility rules, jury lists, selection repertoire and fees.
Official results
| Prize | Laureate | Age and country designation in the 2019 results | Prize money |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | Hyeji Bak | 28; South Korea | CHF 20,000 |
| Second | Marianna Bednarska | 25; Poland | CHF 12,000 |
| Third | Till Lingenberg | 22; Germany / Switzerland | CHF 8,000 |
First prize: Hyeji Bak
Hyeji Bak began piano at three in Daegu, South Korea, and turned to percussion at fourteen. She entered Seoul National University in 2010 to study with Kyeong Hwan Choi, then joined Marta Klimasara’s class in Stuttgart in 2015. That year she won first prize at Belgium’s Universal Marimba Competition. At Geneva she also received six special prizes, sharing the Yamaha award with Bednarska.
Her Recital II programme paired Michael Jarrell’s Entlehnungen with N. Fukushi’s Ground and the third and sixth movements of Jacob Druckman’s Reflections on the Nature of Water. Her final combined Christos Hatzis’s Fertility Rites, Minas Borboudakis’s Evlogitária and Peter Eötvös’s compulsory concerto Speaking Drums.
Second prize: Marianna Bednarska
Marianna Bednarska began piano at seven at the Karol Szymanowski Music School in Warsaw before taking up percussion. She graduated from Stuttgart in 2017 and passed her master’s examinations with distinction at the Geneva University of Music in June 2019. Her earlier awards include second prize at the 2017 Universal Marimba Competition; in August 2019 she made her solo debut at the Lucerne Festival.
For Recital II she chose Michael Jarrell’s Entlehnungen, Frédéric Durieux’s Incidences and Georges Aperghis’s Le Corps à corps. Her final programme featured Iannis Xenakis’s Psappha, Vinko Globokar’s ?Corporel, Domenico Scarlatti’s Sonata in D minor, K. 141 and Eötvös’s Speaking Drums. She also shared the Yamaha Young Artists Scholarship with Bak.
Third prize: Till Lingenberg
Lingenberg trained with Didier Métrailler at the Sion Conservatory from the age of five. He attended the Keiko Abe Lausanne International Marimba Academy (KALIMA) in 2011 and began studying at the Geneva University of Music in 2012, where he obtained a master’s degree in solo music performance. He received a 2017 study prize from the Migros Culture Percentage programme and co-founded Percussion CYTi Duo.
His Geneva programme combined keyboard percussion, multi-percussion and electronics. Recital II included Michael Jarrell’s Entlehnungen and Assonance VII, and Vinko Globokar’s ?Corporel. For the final, the organizer listed Pierre Jodlowski’s 24 Loops, Anthony Pateras’s Mutant Theatre and the compulsory concerto, Peter Eötvös’s Speaking Drums.
Special prizes
| Prize | Recipient(s) | Amount or opportunity |
|---|---|---|
| Audience Prize | Hyeji Bak | CHF 1,500 (*1) |
| Young Audience Prize | Hyeji Bak | CHF 1,000 (*1) |
| Students Prize | Hyeji Bak | CHF 1,000 (*1) |
| Concerts de Jussy Prize | Hyeji Bak | Amount not specified (*2) |
| Bergerault Prize | Hyeji Bak | Five-octave marimba or another instrument valued at EUR 15,000 (*3) |
| Yamaha Young Artists Scholarship | Hyeji Bak and Marianna Bednarska | Two chamber concerts with the percussion section of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra |
(*1) Amounts from the rules, p. 7 .
(*2) The results page lists the prize without an amount.
(*3) The rules, p. 7 value a five-octave marimba at EUR 16,000. The results page gives EUR 15,000 and also permits another instrument.
Hyeji Bak received all six special-prize categories, sharing the Yamaha award with Bednarska.
Final programme
The solo section was scheduled for 18:00 and the orchestral section at 21:00 at Victoria Hall. The announced solo programmes were:
Till Lingenberg
- Pierre Jodlowski: 24 Loops
- Anthony Pateras: Mutant Theatre
Marianna Bednarska
- Iannis Xenakis: Psappha
- Vinko Globokar: ?Corporel
- Domenico Scarlatti: Sonata in D minor, K. 141
Hyeji Bak
- Christos Hatzis: Fertility Rites
- Minas Borboudakis: Evlogitária
All three finalists had Peter Eötvös: Speaking Drums as their compulsory orchestral work, with Julien Leroy and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. The award ceremony was scheduled for approximately 23:15. Live radio coverage by Espace 2 was announced, and video was streamed through the competition website and YouTube .
Jury and earlier rounds
The official jury was chaired by Philippe Spiesser (France). Its other members were Daniel Druckman (USA), Fritz Hauser (Switzerland), Aiyun Huang (Taiwan / Canada), Marta Klimasara (Poland / Germany), Isao Nakamura (Japan / Germany) and Hèctor Parra (Spain).
The organizer announced 34 selected candidates from 12 countries. Recital I was scheduled for 11–12 November, Recital II for 15–16 November and the semi-final for 18 November, before the final on 21 November. The announcement/application article gives the separate preliminary jury, video-preselection dates, repertoire and details of the rules.